Last week, I ran a survey on a few headlines I developed.

You saw 9 headlines, which were basically 3 different versions, of 3 different headlines.

Here are the headlines:

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ATTENTION:

Current and prior customers ONLY

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7 Biggest Marketing Mistakes: Which one of them are YOU making right now?
7 Most Common And Costly Marketing Mistakes: Which one of them are YOU making right now?
7 Serious Marketing Mistakes: Which one of them are YOU making right now?

7 Biggest Marketing Mistakes And How To Avoid Making Them
7 Most Common And Costly Marketing Mistakes And How To Avoid Making Them
7 Serious Marketing Mistakes And How To Avoid Making Them

7 Biggest Online And Offline Marketing Mistakes, And How To Avoid Making Them
7 Most Common And Costly Online And Offline Marketing Mistakes, And How To Avoid Making Them
7 Serious Online And Offline Marketing Mistakes, And How To Avoid Making Them

Let me share some of the results with you, as well as some of the comments people left:

First of all, the last 3, with the “online and offline” designations, all finished dead last.

I wonder if the two media are so far apart that people didn’t feel one issue (Mistakes) could apply to both media?  But in any case, these came in 7th through 9th, respectively.

And although it’s an old staple… it’s also a very reliable one, because of the remaining 6 headlines… both of the “7 Biggest Mistakes” headlines, came in first and second.

7 Biggest Marketing Mistakes And How To Avoid Making Them – came in first, with 21% of the votes, and…

7 Biggest Marketing Mistakes: Which one of them are YOU making right now? – came in second, with 17% of the votes

Of course, even this isn’t a “real” sample – the only effective testing sample would be based on the ads you run in front of your actual population of leads, of course.

But this is a good starting point, if nothing else, right?

Sure, of course it is.

There were a number of comments people left — let me share some of them with you:

“Don’t like any of these that end with ‘them’ Couldn’t they read 7 Serious Marketing Mistakes: Which are you making right now?”

This was fairly common comment, and I wonder what the impact would have been, had I removed “of them,” so the headline read “

7 Biggest Marketing Mistakes: Which one are YOU making right now? – instead of 7 Biggest Marketing Mistakes: Which one of them are YOU making right now?

“I really don’t like any – same old thing but heh you know what works so who am i to say”

A few people felt this way, and yet… I haven’t’ seen anything outpull “X Biggest Mistakes,” since I started in marketing in 2000, funny enough.

“Serious is a much better word than biggest.”  A NUMBER of people said this.

And yet… oddly enough, all 3 headlines with the word “serious,” came in dead last in each category.  The truth is, we are NOT our customers, which is why I never rely solely on my gut feelings.

“All choices smell of scam.”

I don’t know why people like this bother wasting their time interacting with anyone.  What’s the point of wasting your time and writing something like this?

Is this a cry for help or something?

If this was you, I would suggest a good therapist to resolve your trust issues,  and a dose of “I am grateful for…” journaling, for like… 90 days.

“Well, if it says “Common” that must include me, right? Holy shit! :)”

I’ve used “common and costly” and it’s done very well for me, especially online.  But it’s not as powerful, apparently… as “biggest.”

“Is 7 a magic number?”

Yes, it is as magic as The Easter Bunny  ;-)

“online – offline feels clumsy”

You were definitely correct.

“You are overthinking this, dude. what about just . . . Do You Know The 7 Most Costly Marketing Mistakes? Which one of them are YOU making right now? Or, if you really feel the need, then … Do You Know The 7 Most Costly Marketing Mistakes, Online or Off? Which one of them are YOU making right now? This way BOTH lines beget curiosity, yes? In any case it kept bugging me that there is no ‘The’ at the beginning of every choice. Gut reaction -add the ‘The’.”

Wait a minute — I’M overthinking?  lol

Anyway, if you participated in the survey, I just want to say “thanks” for taking time out, to do this.

And if you want more headline templates, check out pages 300 – 302 in my book, where there are headline formulas, templates, and key strategies for you to model.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

P.S.  How To Make Maximum Money With Minimum Customers – Comes with a LIFETIME Guarantee

How To Make Maximum Money With Minimum Customers –  Amazon.com

Coming next week: The Maximum Money Club

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